Corolla vs Civic: What's the better buy

New Delhi: The two Japanese automobile giants Honda and Toyota have battled it the worldover; and they have been pitched against one another in India as well.

But the fight between the Camry and the Accord has been a bit unfair with the Camry being fully imported and the Accord being assembled here. There is a price differential too.

Now with the launch of the Civic, it is pitched right against the Toyota Corolla and it’s a head-on battle for these two.

Civic’s design is brand new, fresh out of the box. Function follows form in its design

It is a comparison everybody has been waiting for. The Toyota Corolla is the largest selling car worldwide. Will the Civic be able to dethrone it in India?

Looks are the first big difference between these two cars. We would be remiss if we didn’t clarify that the Corolla we see is almost five years old, whereas the Civic is brand new, fresh out of the box.

Function follows form in the design of the Civic.

This car has one of the lowest drag co-efficients and has the appearance of a large wave rolling over, a seamless flow from the frontend to rear. This design evolution makes the normally good-looking Corolla look square.

While the Corolla stands tall, the Civic is very low slung and though both the cars are closer in size, the Honda edges out the Toyota with its longer wheelbase. As far as looks go, it’s the brand new Civic I prefer.

Step into these cars and there is a world of difference. While the Corolla offers a stately charm, the Civic is radical, funky and rather like the cockpit of something out of Star Wars.

I have driven these cars quite a bit, but we still have to get over the digital display in direct line of vision of the driver, below the windscreen.

The Corolla offers a stately charm but the design is almost five years old

It gives all the relevant information so the driver doesn’t have to take his eye off the road at any time. The theme continues with the radical blue view that carries over to the tachometer and the other dash instruments.

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The spacecraft look extends to the three spoke steering wheel and the gear lever console that has been modified to accommodate a small hand brake is more convenient and easy to use. Honda has clearly thought about the big man in the back seat, providing a rear remote control for the music system in the armrest, and deep rear pockets and reading lamps for convenience.

Honda Civic has clearly thought about the big man in the back seat

Standing alone, Corolla will still impress but put alongside the fresh Civic, the Toyota suddenly looks boring and old. But the Corolla has its advantages too. The seats especially in the rear are marginally more comfortable, something that will become apparent on a long drive. The Corolla also houses a larger boot - 430 litres against the Civic’s 405. Measured up though, the Civic has more headroom and legroom but the Corolla edges it out with more interior width at the rear.

Alongwith this new look, the Civic has a new powerhouse, it’s a 1.8 motor that produces 130 bhp. All of these changes have made the Civic quick. In a straight line 0-100 or 0-150, it outdoes the Corolla. Whereas the Civic has straight-line speed, it lacks pure punch. Driving the Civic and Corolla back to back, this is what I found.

I wish the Civic had been a little bit more powerful. I do miss the bottom and punch in this engine and you cannot just amble around on second and third gear in this one like you can in the Corolla.

You will find that you do need gear-changes more often. Even on a quick overtaking manoeuvre on the highway; you will find that in the Civic, you do need to shift down a gear to get the punch required to overtake.

Corolla's seats especially in the rear are marginally more comfortable, something that will become apparent on a long drive

However what I really like in Civic is the handling. It feels extremely well planted on the road. It is low slung and that gives it a disadvantage, it may escape a speed-breaker or two when fully loaded but cornering at high speeds and the handling is really enhanced in this one. The steering is also extremely responsive, you will find that an advantage even in the city traffic, while nipping and tucking out of it.

What I found is that the Corolla definitely has the more responsive throttle you can sort of put your foot down, and get the punch where you require it. You can even amble around in third where the Civic would definitely require a second gear and overtaking is also relatively easy. It is definitely the more driveable engine. Corolla may also ride over the speedbreaker and it is quite taller than the Civic but then handling is a little bit wallowy and mushy and doesn’t feel as well planted as that of the Civic. But what is better in the Corolla is the ride; it is definitely softer than that of the Civic. It doesn’t thud over the potholes like the Civic does.

It is all-out war, while the Corolla may have the smoother ride and the more responsive engine, it just doesn’t stack up to the well built, futuristic Civic that offers you the more confident drive. Our only grouse with the Civic is that it doesn’t have that punchy engine that the old VTEC had.

But in the real world, it is all about fuel economy and what is on offer for the price, and here is the deal - whereas the Honda Civic gives you everything topend for the price, all you have to do is choose between manual or automatic and the colour that you want, the Toyota Corolla offers a host of variants at a.range of prices.

So given what is on offer, what I want to take home is the Honda Civic.